19-20 Oct. 2008
NATO and Qatar co-organized a Workshop on “Exchange of Experience on Security Aspects of Energy Infrastructure” that took place in Doha on 19-20 October. It was the first NATO event in the ICI framework to focus on energy security in the Gulf region.
In the margins of this event, Ambassador Martin Erdmann, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy held bilateral talks with Mr. Mohamed Abdulla Al-Rumaihi, Foreign Minister Assistant for Follow-up Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar.
The Workshop was well attended by participants from Allies, ICI countries, the Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the business sector as well as representatives from academia and think tanks.
The Workshop provided a valuable opportunity to explain NATO’s role in energy security and to note that in a world of increasingly complex, interdependent security challenges, energy security is a global concern that necessitates effective international cooperation that needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner.
The conference was opened by Ambassador Martin Erdmann, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Mr. Nasser Khaleel Al-Jaida, CEO Qatar Petroleum and Brigadier Abdulazez Abdulla Al-Ansari, Ministry of Interior, Qatar, followed by a keynote speech delivered by Mr. Edward Chow, Senior Fellow, Energy Programme, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC.
The agenda of the meeting focused specifically on: Regional Overview – Assessment of Threats and Risks to Energy Infrastructure Security; Energy Infrastructure Protection Challenges; Improving Energy Infrastructure Security – Opportunities and Solutions.
The main areas of discussion centred upon NATO’s approach and tools in contributing to energy security; the political and economic situation of the region and its impact on energy supply; the main challenges, risks and threats to energy security and ways to deal with them efficiently.
The subject for this event has been of considerable importance to all participants at a time of growing opportunities and challenges in energy security and in the critical infrastructure delivering energy resources.
At the Bucharest Summit (April 2008), the NATO Heads of State and Government noted a Report on NATO’s Role in Energy Security outlining the main areas where NATO could add value in the field of energy security.
